The Matrix: Nosferatu
by Dark Puck
Summary: 10 years post-revs, takes place after Legacy. The vampiric Exiles are coming out in full force. A vampire named Tiger is thrown together with a human girl to hunt down and stop these vigilantes before the System decides to destroy the chateau....
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

~*~

Listen to them. Children of the night. What music theymake! - Dracula, _Dracula_ (1931)

~*~

A lone figure sat on the roof of a mansion near the top of a mountain, looking up at the waning moon over his head.  His silken hair fell to his shoulders like a sable waterfall, standing out against his white clothing, which again made him stand out against the night sky's dark clouds.  The moonlight shrouded him in its silver glow, and he tilted his face towards it, as if drinking its rays.

His lips moved as he sang to himself and to the silent night, barely revealing the tips of canines far too long to be human: 

"_The minstrel boy to the war hath gone_

_"In the ranks of death you will find him_

_"His father's sword he hath girded on_

_"And his wild harp slung behind him_

_" 'Land of Song!' cried the warrior bard_

_" 'Though all the world betrays thee_

_" 'One sword at least thy rights shall guard_

_" 'One faithful harp shall praise thee.' "_

The song was slow and mournful, and his low, rich tenor suited it perfectly.  He continued his song, seemingly unaware of the shadow approaching him.

_"The minstrel fell but the foeman's steel_

_"Could not bring that proud soul under_

_"The harp he loved never spoke again_

_"For he tore its cords asunder_

_"And said, 'No chains shall sully thee_

_" 'O soul, of love and bravery_

_" 'Thy songs were made for the pure and free_

_" 'They shall ne'er resound in slav'ry."_

"Stealin' th' songs o' my homeland, Tiger?" put in a deeper voice as another program  approached him.  "Hey, Red," Tiger greeted him.  "I was wondering when you'd come out of hiding."  Red grinned.  "Can't sneak up on ya, can I?"

"No.  Besides, it isn't healthy to sneak up on a vampire."

"Neither is robbin' th' Merovingian, and I came through that all right."

"True," Tiger mused.  They sat in silence for awhile, then Tiger asked, "So what brings you up here?  You're not  generally social."  Red shrugged.  "Felt like gettin' outside for a change."  More silence, then Tiger asked, "Red, do you ever... regret what you did?"  "Sometimes," Red answered.  "Hell, 's far 's th' human race is concerned, I'm a traitor... but considering what I had t' live through, can ya blame me?  Th' One totally screwed us over, th' pansy.  At least this version knew how to get what he needed to screw the human race over.  I had t' steal a key, break back into th' last place on Earth I wanted t' go, and kiss th' wife of th' most dangerous program in th' bloody Matrix in order t' help Eon betray Zion."  Red smiled reminiscently.  "God, did it feel good t' punch him... t' feel his jaw shatter under my fist...."

Tiger regarded Red curiously.  Red's story was an interesting one; he had once been a human thief known as William Brennan who had been unplugged after an encounter with the Twins had revealed the false nature of the world he lived in to him.  After the One traded Zion for the lives of the other humans trapped within the Matrix, he had been approached by the Merovingian with a one-time offer: the chance to become a program.

Red, bitter and disillusioned, had accepted.

And now, two Matrices later, it seemed as if the war was finally over.

Red hadn't exactly been the social type beforehand, but now he'd retreated even further into himself, coming out only to drink or to talk with Tiger or Seth.  Even the talks were becoming rarer and rarer.  It was as if the one-time rebel was depressed.

The redhead laughed and ruffled Tiger's dark hair.  "Don' worry 'bout me, kid.  Y' oughta worry 'bout y'self."

"Me?  Why?" Tiger asked, confused.  Red lowered his voice.  "Th' vamps're gettin' restless.  It's 'specially bad now that Cain an' Abel've left.  They're tired o' followin' th' rules, tired o' bein' kept here.  They want blood, human blood, not th' programmed blood they're fed here."  Tiger agreed on that last point, but they were trying to keep a low profile.  Now that peace had been made with the freed humans, the System had a lot more time to spare in dealing with Exiles.

Surely they wouldn't be stupid enough to actually feed off a human, would they?


	2. Attack

**ATTACK**

~*~

A fight to the death with a vampire has a few inherent problems.... – source unknown

~*~

The vampire screeched and lunged for Cain, but the werewolf leapt easily over its head and dealt it a punishing blow to the neck, temporarily stunning the creature.  Not waiting for it to recover, he reached inside his trench coat to pull out the wooden stake he hadn't stopped carrying even after leaving the Merovingian's employ.  The dark-haired program then awaited the vampire's final attack.  It did so with another screech that turned into a scream as it impaled itself on Cain's hidden weapon.

"Sweet dreams," the young-looking man whispered in its ear as it fell.  He then tried to wipe its blood off his shirt, and succeeded only in smearing it.  "Damn vampire.  Luna's gonna kill me."  Cain then looked to the vampire's victim, a girl who looked to be about nineteen or twenty.  She had fainted after Cain had intervened in the attack.  He strode over to her and knelt down, brushing her pale hair from her neck and searching for bite marks.

Nothing.

That was good, at least.

Cain hoisted the dead program over his shoulder and hauled the girl to her feet.  Fortunately, the girl was his neighbour and her house was right here.  He broke inside, left her there, then hauled the creature home.  Luna, fortunately, was not home to scold him for getting blood all over her carpets.  He shucked his ruined shirt off, swearing never to wear white again no matter how much Luna pouted, and changed into a darker shirt before returning the creature to his shoulder.

He fumbled with a key for a moment, then opened a door that led to a building near Club Hel.  He strolled through the garage, snarling when the Q-Ball Gang tried to stop him.  "I am no Wingless," he growled at them, fur starting to grow; the startled men let him in.

Cain had no trouble at the so-called coat check, mainly because Jacob and Esau were on duty and he still had dirt on them both.  Entering the main club, Cain shoved his way through the varied humans, heading for the Merovingian's balcony.

Tiger was the first to notice him.  "Cain!" he cried, startled.  Everyone else turned their heads as the werewolf approached them.  He halted before his former master, dropping the vampire's corpse unceremoniously to the floor.  "There's been a small problem," he said dryly.  "Thus speaks the Master of the Understatement," Seth murmured, kneeling by the body to roll it over as the Merovingian demanded, "What is ze meaning of this?"

Cain pointed at the body.  "Slayer-bait there attacked my next-door neighbour.  Recalling your rule about no vampiric assaults in cities, I of course tried to inform him of his protocol breach.  Unfortunately, he opted to act on the programmed hate of lycanthropes and attacked me, forcing me to defend myself."  He grinned, showing his wolf-fangs.  "I've yet to lose to a bloodsucker, no offence to Tiger meant."

"None taken," Tiger replied.

"It's one of the renegades," Seth said as he stood up, wiping his hand on the dead program's shirt.  The Merovingian snarled his favourite curse as Persephone sighed.  Cain arched an eyebrow.  "The hell?"  The Frenchman and his lady exchanged looks, then Persephone gestured to Seth.  "You tell him."

Seth nodded and stepped forward.  "Well, Cain, you know how restless many of the vampires have been getting since the war ended, right?"  Cain rolled his eyes.  "_Do_ I?  Don't remind me.  Part of the reason I left was because the little buggers wouldn't stop challenging me, and I was getting tired of beating them down over and over and over again."

Matthias snorted, and Tiger grinned.  Seth rolled his eyes.  "_If_ I may continue?"  The other two programs contrived to look innocent -- oddly enough, the ex-Agent actually pulled it off, while Tiger only managed to look as if he were plotting some devious prank -- and Seth sighed.  "Well, they've only gotten worse.  This isn't the first attack we've discovered out of designated  areas.  The System has informed of that if it happens too much... well, the _château _will be destroyed and everyone deleted."

Cain arched an eyebrow.  "They tried that before, remember?"

"Yes, but since then we've lost Seraph, Shyama, you, Abel, and some others.  The Twins are showing signs of wanting out now; you can't really blame them, considering."

Cain winced.  "I see the problem."

"Yeah, plus the Agents have been upgraded since that battle."

"So now what?" the program asked.  "Now," the Merovingian said, "you return 'ome to your wife and daughter and do nosing."  "Nothing," Cain repeated, incredulously.  "Nothing as in 'nothing' or nothing as in 'nothing, but do hunt those bastards down if you have the time in which to hunt'?"

The Merovingian smiled, which gave Cain his answer.  "Fine.  I'll let Abel know -- no, wait," he interrupted himself, remembering who his cousin's neighbour was, "he most likely does already."

Persephone nodded.  As Cain bowed to his former masters, he noticed a slight swell in her abdomen.  Ah, so _that_ was why they were so concerned over this one.  He made a mental note to start vampire-hunting as often as possible.

~*~

"Shit!" came the cry from the _Icarus_' newest trainee, a youngish man named LCD.  "Captain, we got us a self-substantiation happenin'!"

"_What_!?" the captain, a woman who called herself Genesis, yelled.  She and the other two members of her crew were in the room instantly.  "Word came down from the _Gnosis_' 'droid," LCD replied.  "We're closest to the location; we gotta get there 'fore she drowns!"

"You got the coordinates?"

"Yeah."

"Then why the hell're you still here?  Get your ass down to the cockpit now!"  LCD sprang to his feet and bolted, Genesis hot on his heels, Camry and Asmodeus right behind them.  Genesis piloted, of course; LCD took co-pilot this time because he had the coordinates to the girl's location.

They reached the fields in nearly record time, but there was no sign of the girl.  "We're too late," Camry whispered.  

"The hell we are."

It took a moment for it to register that the words had come from operator Asmodeus.

"Wait one damn minute!" Genesis yelped, but Asmodeus was already gone, jogging for the bottom deck.  He kicked the emergency hatch open and backed up.  "Asmodeus!" Genesis yelled, too late.  The antisocial man had already leapt out into the murky water.

"Can he swim?" Genesis demanded of Camry.  The first mate shrugged.  "Not as far as I know."

"... shit."

Asmodeus manoeuvred through the water-like substance swiftly, trying to find the girl.  It was hard, especially because his body seemed to want air.  However, he'd seen the ripples from when she'd fallen, so he had an idea of where she was.  At last, his hand closed on a slender wrist, and he immediately switched directions, feeling a burning in his lungs as he grew dizzy from the lack of oxygen.  _Damn lungs... so inconvenient...._

His head broke the surface, and he took in blessed air before going under once more.  Kicking up, he got his head out of the... water, for lack of a better term, and yelled up to his crewmates, "Get that fucking claw down here!"

They did so, and he grabbed hold, making sure he didn't drop her.  He didn't want to take another dunking.  They were hauled on board, where Camry discovered that the girl was barely breathing.  "Move!" Asmodeus snapped, pushing LCD and Camry aside, taking her naked body in his arms.  "Get me a fucking blanket!  Her immune system ain't up to sudden temperature changes yet!"

"Why does he care so much?" LCD muttered as he went to grab some blankets.  "I'm not gonna let her die before she has a chance to live!" Asmodeus snarled, wrapping her in the blankets and carrying her to the medbay.

The other three blinked.

"Okay, who is he and what has he done with Moody 'Modeus?" Camry asked.

"Maybe his slop was off?" LCD mused.

"That, or he does care for lives other than his own," Genesis replied.  The trio exchanged a look.  "Nah."

"_I heard that!_"

~*~

Chapter Edited.  Again.

~*~

**_Winter:_**_ I went ahead and did it! Some more of Red, too, as well as Jacob and Esau. But mostly Tiger and some random Zionites. Tiger deserves a girl._

**_Sapphire:_**_ Continued; but see the warning above._

**_Megami_****_ no Izumi:_**_ Hook? What hook? *hides fishing rod*_

**_Olafur_****_: _**_*is still laughing, even after eight days* Sorry, baby, I'm not laughing _at_ you... well, okay, yes I am. Take a read of my other 'fic, _The Matrix: Legacy_. Cain and Abel are main characters. And they're werewolves. Hell, a lot of the descriptions hinge on their senses of smell. ~_^ Just read a little of it. Please._

**_Phreak_****_:_**_ Defo? What doth that mean?_

**Suzuka****:** Reloaded plushies! *hunts through the pile and emerges with Seraph, Axel, Cain and Abel, then retreats to a corner* Myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy preeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeccccccccccciousssssssssesssssssssssss......


	3. Assassins

**ASSASSINS**

~*~

They had forgotten the first lesson: that we must be powerful, beautiful, and without regret. - Armand, _Interview With A Vampire_

~*~

If you asked Sun Yù-Lōng, his sister was a delicate flower of feminine beauty and grace.  

If you asked just about anyone else, Sun Yù-Lién was a violent girl with a short temper and the very god of war's own daughter.

Yù-Lién was an assassin, her weapon of choice Japanese _shukusen_.  They were like the girl herself, decorative but deadly.  She wielded them with the grace only constant training could provide; the armbands she wore as the Jade Lotus covered the multitude of scars she'd received in learning to use the weapons.

Yù-Lōng was more laid back than his fiery, intense twin, yet there was an air about him that suggested he was but a sleeping tiger.  Like his sister, Yù-Lōng was an assassin; however, he preferred using a traditional Chinese _tai-jian_.  Like Yù-Lōng, the sword was strong, equally capable of protection or attack.  He was lucky enough to have a natural feel for swords, but the long scar on his cheek was testimony to the fact that natural skill was no match for years of practice.

Yù-Lōng actually shared his sister's delicate beauty, which gave him a decidedly odd appearance - no one could _possibly_ mistake the one-time acrobat for a girl.  To his delight, he'd found that his girlish features combined with his blatant masculinity had a tendency to rattle people.  This, in addition to his constant state of tranquillity, made him the negotiate.

Yù-Lién was the fire to Yù-Lōng's water; she was the _yin_ to his _yang_.  

Both twins had long black hair. Yù-Lién's was matte black and worn loose; Yù-Lōng's was silvery-black and kept back in a ponytail.  When they donned their assassin's garb, the Jade Lotus kept her hair in a deceptively simple bun held in place with lacquered chopsticks while the Shining Dragon simply braided his.

Their eyes were the same muddy brown, though flecks of green appeared in Yù-Lōng's eyes when he donned his reading glasses and in Yù-Lién's when it was that time of the month.  This made a wonderful Early Warning Device for her brother, who would throw chocolate from a distance and then flee for his life.  Yù-Lién on PMS was one of the most terrifying things known to man, as far as he was concerned.

As assassins, both were talented.  This was of course only to be expected, as they _were_ twins of the Sun clan.  Those of the clan who left for the outside world often did well for themselves, especially in not-so legal ventures: they were all extremely proud of their former comrade now known as Ghost, a hacker.

Like Ghost, they'd taken on pseudonyms for their illegal activities and were known in the underworld as the Jade Lotus and the Shining Dragon, though some called them the Twins.  Neither liked this, as they'd seen some of the jobs accredited to them under that title.  Sure, they were good, but they weren't _that_ good, and some of those jobs had transpired at _least_ twenty years before their parents had even considered having children.

If either of them had had any hacking skills beyond disabling alarms, they would have researched this puzzle.  However, they didn't, so they couldn't.

Most of their jobs were mob hits, though there were some neither would take.  A year before, they'd been offered a contract on some French don who called himself something Yù-Lōng couldn't pronounce and Yù-Lién couldn't remember; however, the Lotus had scouted out his club and the Dragon had scouted out his restaurant.  Both counted nine bodyguards, including a pair that could probably double as assassins.  And as good as they were at blending in, both had come away with the feeling that they'd been spotted and quite possibly identified.

Unsurprisingly, they passed up the contract, and someone else took the offer.

The body was never found.

Occasionally, they'd take solo projects, but for the most part, they worked as a team, reading each other nearly flawlessly.  There were of course mistakes and botched hits; they were only human, after all, and youth and skill has rarely been a match for age and experience.

Currently, they were both sneaking through a large, ornate mansion, preparing to take their target down.  Their plans were foiled, however, due to the fact that when they found him, their target was lying in a pool of his own blood, his throat slashed open.

Then Yù-Lién was grabbed from behind, a straight razor coming to rest against her jugular vein before she could reach either _shukusen_ tucked into her belt.  Her angry outcry alerted Yù-Lōng, but a cold voice spoke before his hand was even halfway to his sword.  "Touch that hilt and she dies."  He was barely able to stop his hand.  Slowly, he drew it away before raising his hands away from his body.  "Take it off," purred an identical voice purred behind him.  _British accents_, he noted, unbuckling the sword belt encircling his hips and slowly kneeling to lay his favoured weapon on the floor.

Also slowly, he reached inside his tunic to produce a small Browning and laid it carefully beside the _tai-jian_.  "Smart boy," said the man holding Yù-Lién captive.  Yù-Lōng looked him over carefully and felt the blood drain from his face as he recognised the pale skin, silver-white suit, and white dreadlocks of one of the albino twins he had seen in the restaurant.

The man grinned as his identical twin came around, removing her two _shukusen_ from her belt as well as her CZ-83.  He looked vaguely impressed as he flipped open one of the _shukusen_.  "We have heard of these," he said, closing the steel-ribbed fan and setting it and the other weapons beside Yù-Lōng's.

"These are not the weapons of bodyguards," one said, to which his Twin added, "They are the weapons of assassins."  The albino not holding Yù-Lién hostage circled her brother like a cat.  His face was full of the playful sadism inherent to all "domesticated" felines; Yù-Lōng, a cat-lover with the scars to prove it, watched him like a hawk, a challenging glint in his eyes.

It would not be good to appear as prey to these human cats.  Yù-Lién realised this as well he did, but with that razor pressed against her neck, there wasn't much she could do.  However, the blazing rage in her eyes most definitely marked her as not-prey.

Of course, only an idiot would equate his fiery twin with prey, and these men certainly weren't idiots.  Everything about them seemed to scream "wealth" and "personal assassins".  They were professionals; he and Yù-Lién were children in comparison.  There was no doubt in his young mind that these were the Twins whom he and his sister were occasionally mistaken for.

All of this flew completely out of his head when the one holding Yù-Lién removed the lacquered chopsticks from her hair, all but purring as the silken mass tumbled down her back, making her look younger, more vulnerable.  Yù-Lōng's brain overrode Logic and Safety, flipping straight into Protective Brother Mode.  "Don't touch her!" he snapped, taking a step forward.

A strong hand gripped his shoulder and dragged him back; Yù-Lién, however, had had enough.  One of her hands came up and pushed her captor's arm away from her neck before the elbow on the other arm rammed back into his gut.

The albino laughed and pushed her forward just as she did so, turning her intended escape into a stumble.  Yù-Lién worked swiftly with this, going all the way down and rolling, scooping up their blades as she did so.  She tossed Yù-Lōng his _tai-jian _as he jerked free, turning to face the man behind her as she felt her brother's back press against hers.  He drew his weapon as she snapped her lady fans open, ready to do battle.

It was an odd tableau; two sets of twin assassins facing off.  Then one of the albino twins struck at Yù-Lién, who blocked with her left _shukusen_ and struck with her right, slashing a deep wound across his chest.  He looked at the wound, then at her, before smirking and suddenly shifting into a ghostly, green-tinged figure and back.  The wound was gone.  Yù-Lién's eyes widened as he smirked.  "_Dragon!"_ she called to her brother in their native Chinese, "_I think it's time to leave!_"  He nodded, sliding his foot under his Browning and kicking it up into his left hand, which he then levelled at the albino in front of him and opened fire.

To his dismay, this albino also pulled the same ghosting trick his twin had.  "_I think you're right!_"  He shifted his aim to a window and blew the glass out with four well-placed shots.  At his shout, both ran for the forcibly opened window and leapt through.  Luckily, they had both been trained to handle falls from high places.  Yù-Lién landed on her feet and rolled, Yù-Lōng landed in a sort of crouch and used his momentum to spring forward into a sprint.  Yù-Lién bolted in the opposite direction, heading for a sleek black Ducati whilst her brother jogged for his Maserati.

Both tore out of the place as fast as their respective vehicles could carry them, utterly unaware of the tracers that the Twins had planted on each one of them.

~*~

_As I said before, yes, I am aware that it hasn't been three weeks; however, rescheduling has made me realise that I should get some new chapters out now and devote all of April to school.  Sorry, guys, but I don't need to flunk out._

_~*~_

**_Orcus: _**_Of course Cain went good.  I can't make Abel good and not make Cain good.  Besides, they were never evil._

**_Megami_****_:_**_ Go ahead and cheer for the vamps.  I don't mind.  I love it when my villains pick up fans – wait, you haven't met my villains yet._

**_Suzuka_****_:_**_ Thanks for the plushies!_

**_Sapphire:_**_ It better be a good sequel.  I will be unhappy if I pull a Disney Sequel._

**_Phreak_****_:_**_ I do not have strange taste.  It's just not very discriminating._

**_Dragonet:_**_ Unfortunately, both Molly and Schwarz are by now dead.  This takes place during the Peace, or Seventh Cycle, and Molly and Schwarz come from the Fourth (Fifth as well in Molly's case).  Schwarz... well, we all know what happened to the other crews in_ Matrix: Reloaded_.  Sorry, guys._


	4. Innocence

**INNOCENCE**

~*~

Your body's dying. Pay no attention. - Lestat, _Interview With A Vampire_

~*~

It was Yù-Lién who first took notice of January Mitchell, known around campus as Plain Jan.  The girl was being harassed by a pair of men who wouldn't get any if they went to Russia and _paid_ for it, if you asked Yù-Lién's humble opinion.  "Ugly girl," they were calling her, "No-Man Jan."  Yù-Lién's eyebrow twitched.  The shy, unsocial girl was in two of her classes, and this persecution was _really_ pissing her off.  Still in a bad mood due to last night's oversexed assassins, she focused all her rage on the pair of lackwits before her.

The Chinese beauty had a legendary temper.  As her jaw clenched, a clear sign of danger, innocent bystanders fled lest they be scorched by her wrath.  She fell upon the two males with all the unrelenting force of a Class-Five hurricane combined with a raging typhoon and wound up chasing them down the hall, out the door, and outside, where a severe ass-kicking took place.

January blinked, stunned by the sudden, unexpected championship of her by one of the most beautiful women at the college.  A hand came down softly on her shoulder as its owner chuckled.  "Looks as if Hard-Hearted Hannah's got herself some new prey."  She turned to see Yù-Lién's twin brother standing behind her, looking amused.  She flushed bright red, and his grin broadened.  "None of that, now.  Yù-Lién must like you, or she wouldn't fly off the handle like this."

Jan wasn't sure of what to say.  She was shy and awkward in social situations; however, Yù-Lōng had come prepared.  With very little persuasion, he'd gotten her into the cafeteria/lounge area and seated across from him.  Yù-Lōng had an open, easy-going manner that soon had Jan chatting with him as if they were old friends.  It was very easy for him to find out that she spent much of her free time online under the handle 'Seasyngr'.  To his disappoint, she wasn't a hacker; however, she was still useful.

She made a perfect cover and would be easy enough to cultivate; besides, it would be good for the shy, insecure girl to unplug from her computer and get out some.  Thank goodness his beloved twin had taken the first steps toward befriending her.  It'd be so much easier now.

His mind's eye handed him the image of last night's albino twins.  If they were to run into himself and Yù-Lién while January was with them... well, she'd make for a good distraction.  They would find her easy to dominate and would likely focus on her long enough for himself and his sister to get the hell out of Dodge.  Odds were they wouldn't kill her.  Yes, sweet, shy January Mitchell was the perfect cover.

Jan had no idea of what was going on behind his smiling façade, and it was just as well that she didn't.  Anyone who could see beyond Yù-Lōng's light-hearted attitude to the man underneath would run away, screaming in terror.

Sun Yù-Lōng was the sort of person who would smile to your face after you insulted his family, then stab you in the back a few hours later.  He felt no remorse and seemed to have no morals.  His loyalty lay only with his sister and with his clan; insult either, and the insulter might find a potentially fatal poison slipped into their food.  He didn't care about innocent bystanders: if they were smart, they'd get the hell out of the way.

The Shining Dragon was one cold piece of work.

Jan had no idea of who she was dealing with. 

~*~

Asmodeus hadn't left the girl's side since he'd jumped into the "water" after her.  Nobody could figure out why he was trying so hard to keep her alive.  A good week and a half since she'd self-substantiated, and she still hadn't regained consciousness.  The Zion-born was becoming as thin as she was; skipping and forgetting meals as well as lack of sleep were taking their toll on him.  Genesis had already drugged his food once and was threatening a repeat performance.

Twice, the girl had stopped breathing, only to be revived by an attentive Asmodeus.  No one could figure out why he'd taken on such a... nurturing role towards the girl.  For one thing, in the equation that made up his core personality, Asmodeus≠Nurturing, unless Object(Nurturing)=Plant.Life.  For another, Asmodeus didn't like _anybody_ excepting Danaë, one of Zion's best medics, and little LCD for reasons unknown.

It was rumoured that Asmodeus' only fear was Captain Niobe of the _Logos_... but then again, _everyone_ feared Niobe.  It was a survival thing.  Niobe had wound up taking Ice's place as the undisputed matriarch of the fleet.  Sure, Commander Locke dictated where everyone went... but it had been first Ice, then Niobe, who made sure it was _done_.  Rumour had it that even Morpheus thought twice about disobeying Captain Ice of the _Gnosis_.

At the moment, Asmodeus was getting pissed off at his body, which was betraying him once more.  It kept trying to go to sleep without his permission.  He started to nod off once more, and jerked himself awake, muttering a curse.  He opened his eyes and almost jumped as he saw LCD in front of him.  "Where'd you come from?"

"Genesis says you're to get at least twelve hours' rack time or she'll make sure you get twenty-four.  Under sedation, if necessary."  Asmodeus grumbled, but LCD gave him a plaintive look.  For some reason, Asmodeus couldn't resist LCD's plaintive looks.  At last he sighed, heaving himself out of the chair.  "All right, I'll tell Genesis I'm hitting the sack.  Watch her for me, will you, kid?"  LCD nodded eagerly, and Asmodeus ruffled his hair.  "Thanks a lot."  He walked off, leaving a flushing LCD behind.

After a moment, the trainee took Asmodeus' abandoned seat and turned his head toward the girl.  Any jealousy he'd felt originally towards her evaporated in a flash.  He remembered what it had been like when _he'd_ self-substantiated.  LCD had not been ready for the truth at all.  He was sure that he would have snapped if Asmodeus hadn't stepped in.

Come to think of it, Asmodeus had been taking a personal interest in each of the self-substantiation cases.  He wanted to figure out what was causing people who weren't ready for the truth to download themselves into their real bodies.  LCD, unfortunately, couldn't remember anything beyond being caught by his pursuer.  Everything from being caught to waking up in Zion was a blank to him.

In the two years since LCD's awakening, eighteen others had self-substantiated, most of them female.  Of those eighteen, five had snapped, nine had committed suicide, and four had been able to handle the change.  Of those four, two had died from pneumonia, a common affliction of the recently unplugged.  LCD had caught it as well, but had ultimately survived his bout with the disease.

The self-substantiations were troubling both the machines and the Zionites.  What was causing them?

LCD reached over to check the girl's temperature, and noticed a pair of bruises on her neck right over her jugular vein.  Frowning, he inspected them closer, and realised that the bruises looked familiar.  He had seen a pair of bruises exactly like those, he reflected, tracing his fingers along the slash-like markings. They had been in the exact same place... on himself, two years ago.

This... was no coincidence.

~*~

_Isn't LCD t3h ky00t?  *huggles him*  I adore him!_

_*notices all her readers staring at her*_

_*coughs*_

_Okay, um, time to play a game!  I want you to look over my stories carefully when you can.  We're going to play "Who Can Spot the Reference To Other Works of Literature"!  If you can name who the reference is (yes, the references are people) and the author of the works, you get a special prize that is TBA.  We'll just play with _Legacy _for now.  The more you can name, the better the prize!  **Ethan**, I told you about them, so you don't get to play._

_~*~_

**_Megami_****_:_**_ Updated because this was begging to written.  I'm doing better now that I dropped a class.  ^_^_

**_Winter:_**_ Here ya go._

**_Dragonet:_**_ Go read _Fifth Cycle: Transition_.  Plenty of Molly action to come there, I promise.  And Yù-Lién and Yù-Lōng are not around to be the Twins' lovers.  They have another purpose._

_~*~_

_Well, that's all for now!  Enjoy!_

Because I'm a blonde, I don't have to think

I talk like a baby and I never pay for drinks

Don't have to worry about gettin' a man

If I keep this blonde and I keep these tan

'Cause I'm a blonde, yeah, yeah, yeah

'Cause I'm a blonde, yeah, yeah, yeah

I see people workin'; it just makes me giggle

'Cause I don't have to work: I just have to jiggle

Because I'm blonde, B-L-O-N-D

Because I'm blonde, don't you wish you were me?

_('Cause I'm a Blonde_ © Julie Brown)


	5. Revival

**REVIVAL**

~*~

Children of the night, shut up! - Dracula, Love At First Bite

~*~

Genesis had decided to drop the girl off at 01 – the machines were better equipped to deal with the recently unplugged, especially self-substantiates like this one.  Asmodeus heartily agreed, which was enough to make Genesis pause and reconsider the options.  LCD pointed out that Asmodeus really was interested in her survival, and Camry seconded that notion, so the ship's course was set for 01.

Camry radioed ahead to inform the workers at the embassy of the course change, and the _Icarus_ was met at 01 by a medical 'droid and, to Asmodeus' surprise, Danaë.  She gave him a shrug and mentioned that the machines were furthering her own training so that she'd be able to care for the self-substantiates as well.  LCD caught her later and mentioned what he'd noticed about the bruise on the girl's neck.

Asmodeus and Danaë exchanged dark glances.  "Are you thinking what I am?" the woman asked him.  "I'll look into it," the Demon of Zion said, offering Danaë a courtly, if mocking, bow.  "Frenchie may have some answers for me.  Maybe I can barter some info out of him."

Danaë gave him an arch look, and he contrived to look innocent.  "Not with people...."  She rolled her eyes and sighed.  "Only because you don't want Niobe mad at you."

"Damn straight," he told her.  She just shook her head and followed the 'bot carrying the girl.  Asmodeus slipped off into the darker parts of 01, where the Merovingian held power.  Someone in his menagerie might have some idea of what was going on... he hoped.

~*~

Red took a soft, hesitant step into the church, one hand clutching the deep wound in his side to try and stop his blood from flowing out.  Automatically, his free hand dipped into the dispenser at the door, wetting his index and middle fingers with holy water before making the sign of the cross.

He was startled at the familiarity of this movement, given that he'd not made it in over two centuries.  _Does God hear the pleas of traitors?_ he idly wondered as he made his way down the back of the chapel, eyes searching for a confessional booth.  _Well, here's hoping, eh, Lord?_  His footsteps echoed through the empty room as he walked, mixed with the occasional splatter as a drop or two of his blood hit the floor.  _Even if He hears traitors, _Red found himself wondering again, _would He hear a program?_

It wasn't his wound that had driven him to this chapel, oh no.  He'd been wounded much worse in the past – had his arm clear torn off in the real world, if he recalled right.  He'd been wounded on his way here.  Bloody vampires.

He found the confessional booth and knelt in it, awaiting a priest.  He wouldn't be surprised if the Merovingian already knew he was here, but he figured he was pretty safe.  He wasn't seeing the Oracle, after all.  So he was getting back to his roots, turning to a possible god to deal with his problems.  The Merovingian had other things to worry about, such as the rogue vampires as well as the child his wife was carrying for him.

Red spotted the priest and felt instantly glad he was using the shell that looked like his old self.  He had a feeling that the tattooed one would have given the old priest a heart attack on the spot.  Sure, that version was smaller than this one, but there was something vaguely demonic about those Maori facial tattoos.

He waited for the priest to be seated before ploughing right into what he needed to get off his chest.  "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.  It's been...," Red's voice trailed off as he tried to figure out the number of years and failed miserably, "a very long time since my last confession."

Red confessed everything to the priest – well... as much as he safely could.  Some parts, such as the existence of the Matrix, he had to gloss over.  "And do you repent of your sins, my son?" the priest asked after Red had finished.  He considered this.  "Ev'rything but punchin' Eon."

The priest sighed and began to speak, likely about forgiveness, but Red spotted the shadow looming at the window.  "Look out!" the program yelped, getting around the booth and between the good father and the vampire that crashed through the window.

It hit the burly Irishman with enough force to slam him against the cold, hard floor, white-hot pain lancing from his wound in an attempt to temporarily paralyse his body.  Red reacted through the pain, using his strong arms to crush the creature against him in a bear hug.  It screamed and thrashed and tried to bite him, but Red grimly held on, tightening his grip until its back snapped.  It wasn't dead, oh no, but it wasn't going to be moving anytime soon.

The former human got to his feet, hissing in pain.  "Forgive me," he said to both the priest and God as he reached out and snapped some of the wooden decoration off the confessional booth.  _Oak, good.  One of the four "holy" woods, should poison it if I can't stake it,_ he thought as the rest of the band struck.  Red was hard-pressed to defend himself against five vampires while badly wounded and trying to protect the innocent coppertop.  He managed to stake two, but the other three bore him down, adding extra injuries to the ones he already had.

These were the vampires who'd attacked him on his way here, he realised.  They must have followed the trail of blood he'd undoubtedly left!  Their leader stepped forward, hungrily eyeing Red's blood.  "So ends the life of one of the Partners," he sneered, appropriating the stake and raising it to take Red's life with it.

"By the power vested in me by the Lamb of God," interrupted the forgotten old priest, raising a crucifix as he approached the vampires, "I command thee to leave this place!"  Red winced, knowing that nothing would happen –

and something did.

~*~

The System recognised the priest as one who truly believed in the God he worshipped and accessed the vampires' coding, revoking their normal immunity and forcing them to flee before they were destroyed.

~*~

Red pushed himself up onto his elbows, utterly stunned.  _This_ was a new turn of events.  If he survived the blood loss, it would definitely be going to the Frenchman.  The priest was beside him now.  "Are you badly injured, my son?"

"I'll live," he replied with more conviction than he felt.  He struggled upright, surveyed the wrecked portion of the church, and sighed.  His fault.  Reaching to his left ear, he removed the emerald stud earring from it.  Next came a platinum ring; together, their price would more than pay for the damage.  However...  "If this doesn't cover the damage, Father, I'll bring some more next time," he said, mentally adding, _and I'll make Seth do it if I don't live through the night_.

Red stumbled out of the small church, making for a subway and the Trainman.  Vampires and werewolves hated Mobil Ave. with a passion, there was no way in hell they'd follow him.  Besides, he might have enough on him to bribe the disgusting man to take his train to 01 and smuggle the human with the healing hands to him – the girl Danaë, his many-times-great-niece, had healed a fucking _Agent_, after all.  Maybe she'd help him.

He found the grizzled program easily enough.  "Charon," he greeted the Trainman, "I need passage to Limbo."

"Avoiding the vampires?" the other sneered at him.  Red gave him a venomous look.  "I'll pay you."

The overall negotiation of both his and Dana's passage resulted in Red passing over all his jewellery but the ring marking him as one of the Merovingian's men, his car keys, his hidden flask of moonshine, the monetary contents of his wallet, and a promise of both a five-year Playboy subscription and a year's supply of hard liquor.

'Charon' was certainly a good name for the greedy bastard.

Red made it to Mobil Ave and collapsed.  It was an impressive fall, starting at the knees and continuing until Red's broad chest hit the ground.  The Trainman muttered something about 'damn giant' as he rewrote the code of Mobil to erase the cracks Red's impact had caused.

~*~

Asmodeus emerged from the room, blinking as he stepped from darkness into slightly-less-darkness.  The channels to the _château_ had changed, and he didn't have time to hack them.  Something weird was going on in the Matrix.

The problem with his theory was that they had no proof, and the only method of confirmation was getting in touch with the Merovingian and questioning him in such detail that he couldn't talk his way around the answers and give nothing away.  Now, how to word his phrases to talk the man into talking....

"What do you mean, Red's waiting for me?" he heard Danaë ask.  His head snapped up; what the hell was she doing in this part of 01?  Poking his head around a corner, the Zionite saw Danaë conversing with a hologram of a grizzled man.

"I mean what I said," the man snapped at her.  "He's waiting for you, and he's bleeding badly.  I'm just holding up my end of the bargain."  Asmodeus didn't like his tone, not at all.  Danaë bit her lip.  "How do I get to him?"  The man smirked.  "You ride my train."  He gave her directions, and Asmodeus followed her.  This he had to see.

Sure enough, there was a train.  Danaë hesitated, and stepped on board... then collapsed outside of it.  "Danaë!" he yelled, running to her and drawing her into his arms.  Her face was peaceful; her breathing normal.  Asmodeus frowned, checking her pulse; it was normal.

It was like... she was jacked in....

The train began to pull out.  Eyes narrowed, Asmodeus leapt on board—

And screamed in pain.

~*~

_Cliffhanger!  *laughs evilly*_

_What happened to Asmodeus?  Why is Red being hunted?  Will Red make it?  Why am I asking these questions?  And what about Fred?  All these questions and more will be answered… eventually.  Definitely within the next month or so.  I think._

~*~

**_Winter:_**_  Jan is my counter to Yu-Lien; she is her opposite, almost.   I rather like Miss Mitchell myself.  The nurturing side isn't new.  Asmodeus is just good at hiding it.  ^_^_

~*~

_Hey, where'd all my loyal reviewers go?  *ish confused now*  Do you not like this latest Cycle?_


	6. Wireless

**WIRELESS**

~*~

I weary of your foolishness!

~*~

A former crewman on the Nebuchadnezzar known as Dozer had been well-known for brewing liquor that was good for two things: degreasing engines and killing brain cells.  When he awoke, Asmodeus felt as if he'd downed five containers of it.

He rolled over onto his stomach and pushed himself up, muttering, "Fucking... _ow...._"  He stared at the silver steel underneath him, then noticed his hand.  There wasn't much unusual about it... except for the black glove of an unfamiliar material covering it.  "... the hell?" he wondered.  He was pretty sure he hadn't been wearing any gloves.  He looked at his other hand, which was bare, then noticed the long black coat he was now wearing.

"What in...?"

Unsteadily he rose to his feet, noting the boots encasing his feet as well as the black cotton pants and a crimson shirt under the coat.  There were mirrored sunglasses on the floor; he picked them up with his gloved right hand and looked at them for a long moment.

Then he realised.

He looked around the unfamiliar area, then spotted a worried Danaë looking out the window.  She turned to look where he'd been lying, spotted his feet, and snapped her eyes up to his face.  "Asmodeus!" she cried, throwing her arms around him and burying her face in his shoulder.

He froze, startled.  "I was afraid the transition had killed you," he heard her voice say, slightly muffled due to the fact that she was talking into his shoulder.  He gently put her from him.  "It'll take more than a blinding headache to kill me," he reassured her.  "Now, I have to figure out the hardest part of this."

She gave him an odd look.  "What do you mean?"  "Judging by the outfit," he replied, "I'd assume I'm either in the Matrix or in some subset of it.  I don't care about how or why it happened, I'm just wondering how I'm going to get out."

She nodded, then stumbled as the vehicle began to slow.  The grizzled man who'd contacted Danaë lurched towards them, giving Asmodeus a filthy glare.  "We're here," he leered at Danaë.  Asmodeus' eyes narrowed as he slipped the sunglasses onto his face.  If Ghost could see this, he would certainly kill that man.  Asmodeus was sorely tempted to do so.

The train stopped, and the driver kicked them off.  Asmodeus spotted Dana's patient right away – the pool of blood was a dead giveaway.  Danaë cried in dismay and ran to him; Asmodeus followed at a more sedate pace, noting the strong resemblance between the wounded program and the girl.

Ah, so _this_ was the man who'd chosen to become a program.  He'd heard of Red from young Orion – though Orion wasn't exactly young now.  There were rumours that Danaë was descended from a sibling of this Red.  Looking at them, Asmodeus could believe it.

He heard an odd sliding noise and turned to see the train leaving.  "Hey!" he yelled, dropping down into the tracks and chasing after it – only to run back into the station from the other end.  He blinked, looking from one end to the other.

"...shit."

He climbed back up to the platform to see Danaë trying to staunch the blood flow.  Asmodeus recognised that he couldn't be of any use to her, so he started exploring his new look.  He did like this outfit, it made him look even more intimidating.

He paused, picturing himself mentally for a moment.  His clothes tended to be limited to what was made in Zion, so why didn't he match up with his residual self-image?  Exploring this outfit, he realised that he had an assault rifle attached to his side, as well as a pair of handguns holstered on either hip.

Feeling better now that he had weapons, Asmodeus walked over to where Danaë was treating the other redhead.  Stooping down, he borrowed her cell phone and walked away, dialling a number.

Nothing.

Asmodeus glared at the phone, them began tinkering with it.  He tried again, and grinned as he heard a voice come through.  "Operator."

"Hi, Camry."

"**_ASMODEUS!!!_**"

He winced and pulled the phone away from his ear.  He was sure he'd been deafened.  He put the phone to his other ear.  "Camry, be a dear and get Genesis on the line, would you?  It's important."

A few clicks, then Genesis picked up.  "Asmodeus, where in the hell are you?"

"Well," he said slowly, "you can find me and Danaë over in the Merovingian's part of 01, near what looks like a train station.  Don't ask.  Danaë should be easy to get out, but there's going to be a complication."

"What the hell do you mean?  Where are you?"

Asmodeus looked at the letters on the wall.  "Mobil Ave."  Silence from Genesis.  "Before you can ask, no, I don't know how it happened," Asmodeus told her.  "But I can tell you that it hurt.  A lot.  And I have no idea of how in the hell we're going to get me out of here."

~*~

"How's he doing?" Asmodeus asked Danaë softly.  An hour had passed since their arrival in Mobil Ave.  "He's stable for now," she replied.  "I managed to stop the bleeding, but he's going to need a transfusion and iron-rich foods for awhile."  Asmodeus arched an eyebrow.  "So he's as vulnerable as humans, huh?"

"If Red was ever vulnerable.  Marcus once told me that Red went into the Matrix to protect him from an Agent."  Asmodeus' eyes widened.  "Why?"  Danaë shrugged.  "You'd have to ask him."

Asmodeus leaned against a wall.  "So, the Frenchman made him a program, huh?  I wonder why he did that?"  Danaë sighed.  "I don't know, and if anyone does know, they aren't telling."

"Hmmm," was the non-committal reply.

Danaë gave him a sharp glance, but Asmodeus' expression was unreadable, his eyes hidden behind the sunglasses.  Why did he have his RSI so radically different from his appearance?  He had no self-esteem problems that she knew of.

Asmodeus' head snapped up.  "Somebody's coming," he said, seeming to tense slightly.  A second later, Danaë heard the sound of a subway pulling in.  The LOOP train pulled in, the doors opened...

And the Merovingian stepped out, flanked by the Twins.  Dana's eyes widened as she took an involuntary step back, but she relaxed as Tiger and Seth also appeared.  Tiger sniffed the air and paled a little, pressing his hand over his mouth and giving his boss a dirty look behind his back.

Ah, that was right, Tiger was a vampire.

"You two, get Red," he ordered the twins, who both gave Danaë suggestive leers as they gathered their fallen comrade.  Asmodeus stepped between them and her.  "Back off," he said calmly, eyeing them.  One of the Twins stared at him.  "Do we know you?" he asked.

He smirked and removed the sunglasses.  "You might."

Seth drew in a startled breath.  "No fucking way."  Tiger's eyes widened behind his sunglasses.  "He looks just like Jet."  Asmodeus blinked.  "Did I miss something?"

The Merovingian smirked.  "So, you are ze infamous Demon of Zion, _non_?"  "I might be," Asmodeus replied.  "I take it you're the Merovingian?"  "_Mais__ oui_," the Frenchman replied.  His eyes flicked over Asmodeus.  "You look remarkably like someone I knew well," he mused.  A hint of regret entered his eyes as he spoke.  A blink, and it was gone.

"So, you are ze human who dared to use me as a pawn in your little game?"

Asmodeus contrived to look innocent and failed quite miserably.  "Pawn?  Oh, no, _no_, no, no.  You weren't a pawn: you were a bishop!"  Tiger snorted at his words, and Seth looked amused.  "I do have a question, though," Asmodeus went on.  He looked at Danaë, then turned to the Merovingian and spoke in another language.  The Merovingian blinked, answering back in the same language.  Seth's eyes widened as he listened, and Tiger looked just as confused as Danaë.

The girl offered him a soft smile, and he promptly gravitated towards her.  "I hate it when he does things like that," Tiger confessed with a fanged grin.  The fangs reminded Danaë of her theory.  "Tiger... how would one tell if someone had been attacked by a vampire?  Apart from blood loss, I mean."

The androgynous vampire considered this for a moment.  "Well, the whole of the feeding area would be bruised for four to six inches from the bite," he said eventually.  "And don't look for pinprick marks like human movies show.  Fangs slash."

He frowned now.  "Why do you ask?  Sure you don't have vampires in the real world, do you?"  She shook her head.  "In the past two years or so," she said softly, "there have been twenty self-substantiations.  The problem is, none of them were aware of the lie of the Matrix."  She cast her eyes down.  "Most of them died or went insane... only three are alive and stable, and the fourth is fighting for her life.  With one exception, all have been female, and...," she hesitated, "both the first and the last ones had parallel bruises that looked like slashes.  The others may also have had bruises, but I don't know."

Tiger looked troubled.  "You think vampire attacks are the cause?"  Danaë nodded.  "It is possible," the vampire murmured, "but likely only if the our victim is a candidate for unplugging.  I've never heard of it otherwise, though."

Dana's eyes widened.  "Wait... I know how we can get Asmodeus out!"

"Oh, _hell_ no!" Asmodeus cried when they ran it by him.  "My blood stays in my body, where it belongs!  Besides, as long as I'm here, I might as well explore the Matrix, right?"

The Merovingian rested a hand on Dana's shoulder.  "Your real world companions will not be ready to free you yet," he said, not unkindly, "and you will need a hard line to get out, yes?"  She twitched, and he let go.  "Besides," he added as he stepped on board the subway, "the child zat you are carrying needs rest."

~*~

_Stopping there because I have an all-night Matrix marathon to host.  ^_^_

_~*~_

**_Megami_****_:_**_ Thanks, but the finals aren't for three weeks yet.  ^_^_

**_Winter:_**_ ...   You're lucky I like you._

**_oR3n5:_**_ Er, I didn't name Tiger.  He's a canon character.  Remember the guy all in white during the _Château Mêlée?_  That's Tiger.  He came with a name.  Now, you tell me who else has a lame name, and I'll tell you if it was me or the Wachowskis named them that, yes?_


	7. Club

**CLUB**

~*~

I feel a disturbance in the Force....

~*~

A month had gone by. Yù-Lién had dismissed the incident with the albino twins from her mind, but Yù-Lōng still thought about it from time to time.  The more he thought about it, the more he realised that those twins had let him and Yù-Lién escape.  It seemed almost as if they had been toying with them, and that irritated him.

Yù-Lōng, however, was not stupid enough to feel that his honour had been insulted.  Whatever those two were, they were _not_ human.  They were old, they were deadly, and they were _not_ to be trifled with.  Despite that, he began trying to think of ways to deal with that ghosting power of theirs.  After all, there was a small chance that they might meet again.

He looked up at the clock, noting the time.  7:15, Yù-Lién and January should be back from their shopping trip now.  Jan had definitely benefited from his and his sister's friendship, he reflected.  She no longer wanted for much; either he or Yù-Lién took care of it.  They had plenty of money to burn; assassination paid well.  He actually found it amusing to be the girl's anonymous benefactor, it afforded him another kind of power over her.

He momentarily considered exerting total control over her – it would be quite simple, really – but dismissed it.  January was probably too strong-willed for that; besides, Yù-Lién would get mad at him.  She honestly liked the girl.  Yù-Lōng rather liked her as well, Jan was undeniably sweet, though naïve.

They were taking her with them to a "club" they frequented often.  Yù-Lién would be with January while Yù-Lōng attended to... business.  "Oi, bro!"

Speak of the devil.

He turned as Yù-Lién walked in with Jan, and smiled.  No, Jan was nowhere near the beauty his sister was, but she was cute.  Especially with that nervous, unsure look on her face.  The look was probably due to the outfit Yù-Lién had put her in: tight black leggings coupled with black boots and a flowing, dark red shirt.  Yù-Lién herself was wearing one of her many traditional Chinese dresses.  This one was black and patterned with white lotus blossoms; it clung to her perfectly and was slit nearly to her hips on both sides, exposing her long, shapely legs.

"My dear sister," Yù-Lōng proclaimed, rising to his feet, "you are surely a goddess of sex."  Yù-Lién brandished one of her _shukusen_ at him.  "I will use this, brother mine," she informed him.  He grinned unrepentantly and turned to January.  "And you, my dear," he said, taking her hand in his and kissing it, "look decidedly lovely."  He had to grin at her flush.  Poor girl had probably never been flirted with.  "Well," he said, "I am going to change, and then we shall be off."

He returned in a black _Shou_ shirt – silk, of course – with black _Muli Dasi_ pants.  He would wear no pattern on his clothing this night.  After tying his hair back, he returned to the girls.  "The Sable Chariot awaits," he told them with an elaborate bow.

By now, Jan knew that the Sable Chariot was the name of Yù-Lōng's black Maserati.  

He escorted them down, then fought with his sister over who got to drive for a minute.  Sulking, Yù-Lién got in the passenger side while her triumphant brother got behind the wheel.

All three were unaware of their distant observers.

~*~

"So... why are they looking after that girl?" Tiger asked.  One and Two shrugged.  "We don't know," Two replied, glaring at the Chinese boy.  "Perhaps they find it amusing?" One suggested.  "They probably make more money than they need for assassination."

"But befriending this girl... it's like they have morals."

"At least one of them has to," One said.  "No one could turn out twins that were exactly alike.  It's been tried."  Tiger knew that, he had the result of that experiment in front of him.  One and Two were almost, but not quite, the same person.  It was very creepy.

Two grinned.  "Shall we crash the party?"

"I believe we shall," One replied, smirking.  Tiger knew that smirk.  It was a smirk that indicated the recipient should run as fast as they could in the other direction and not stop until they reached the opposite coast of the continent.  Preferably, they should keep going until there was half a world between them and the smirk.

"I shall accompany you," a new voice put in silkily.  Tiger and the Twins turned to see Vlad leaning in a corner.  "This girl intrigues me, that she can hold the interest of assassins."  Tiger's eyes narrowed.  Was Vlad actually going to claim that girl for no other reason than that?

Tiger decided to manoeuvre Vlad out of a claim.  The girl intrigued him as well, for another reason that he did not care to divulge.  "That is of course your prerogative," he said, making it sound as if he did not care.  He'd have to play this carefully, Vlad had not been the leader of the vampire clan since coming to the Merovingian by being stupid.  Vlad was nowhere near the brute Cujo was, but he'd held his colony as long as Cujo had held his pack.  Vlad was easily as powerful as any of the Partners and definitely ranked as high as they did.

Vlad gave him an arch look, and Tiger contrived to look innocent.  "I have to talk with Tobias," he said, turning and walking off.

~*~

The first thing January noticed upon entering the club with the twins was that most of its patrons were Asian or of Asian descent.  Those that weren't were either in relationships with the regulars or had totally immersed themselves in Eastern culture.

Yù-Lién found one of her friends and split away, leaving Yù-Lōng with January.  Yù-Lōng noticed some of the looks Jan was getting and smiled dangerously.  Speaking in Mandarin, he said in a friendly tone, "If you were to mess with this one, my sister would be very... upset."

Instantly, the lookers turned their eyes elsewhere.  He grinned again and led Jan to one of the tables.  "Don't mind them," he told her in English.  "They're actually quite friendly."  "Don't listen to him," another voice put in.  "We're all a bunch of sharks waiting to strike."  

Yù-Lōng knew that voice.

"Shen!" he cried, turning to the owner of the voice.  Kun Shen grinned at him.  "Long time no see, eh, Dragon?" he asked.  "Too long.  How's the clan?"  Shen shrugged.  "I dunno; I left about six months after you and Lotus to follow in the path of Zen Ghost."  

"I knew those computers would fry your brain!" Yù-Lōng laughed, following easily into the old patterns of friendship.  Shen smirked.  "Actually, I've found that they've freed my mind, not fried it."  He and Yù-Lōng moved towards the bar, leaving an uncomfortable-looking Jan at the table.

Yù-Lién was dancing happily with another friend, a rival bodyguard who went by the name Wings.  Noting this, as well as January's forlorn look, Yù-Lōng excused himself from Shen and strode to the younger girl.  January blinked as he held out his hand to her.  "Let's dance," he said, offering her a grin.  She blinked at him, and he laughed, grabbing her hand and pulling her out to the dance floor.  "Easy does it," he told her as he began to move with the music.  "Just follow my lead."  

January may not have been pretty, but she could keep a beat and she learned quickly, he admitted to himself minutes later as the song ended.  Shen was there, holding out his hand.  "You don't get to keep her to yourself, Dragon," he admonished, sweeping Jan away.  Yù-Lōng shook his head as Yù-Lién came to stand by him.  "Well, her self-esteem should improve after this," he commented.

"Yes.  Makoto wants to see us."  Yù-Lōng looked at his sister.  "Job?"  She nodded, and he followed her to one of their many employers.

It was Wings who saw the strangers walk in, though they were quickly noticed by all others – the tall albino twins stood out much more than their smaller, dark-haired companion, but they were fairly noticeable – especially when one of the twins made straight for Yù-Lōng's piece.

January looked up as the tall, pale man smirked at her, offering her a hand as so many men had since Yù-Lōng's offer to dance.  "We would enjoy dancing with you," he purred.  This man scared her.  "I'm, uh, I'm a little tired right now," she said, hoping he would go away.  "Then we will wait until you are rested," he replied easily, sitting beside her.

Shen nodded to Wings and another man named Li, and they approached the albino and January – until the other albino and the thin stranger got in the way.  "There is no need for you to get involved," the albino said.  Shen looked at him, his companion, and then to Li and Wings.  After a moment, he nodded, and the three of them scattered – Wings to fetch the twins, Li to get weapons, and Shen to come around and rescue January.

~*~

"_Doragono!  Lotusu!_" Wings cried as he burst in on their meeting, Japanese accent thicker in his distress.  "Those albinos are here!"  Yù-Lién shot to her feet.  "They tracked us!"  Yù-Lōng grabbed her before she could rush to January's defence.  "Careful, sister!" he cautioned her.  "Don't forget what happened when we encountered them."

He turned to Wings.  "Explain.  _Now_."

~*~

January had had to give in and dance with first the albino, then his twin, then their companion.  Of the three, it was this shorter man that scared her the most; something about the way he was eyeing her gave her the creeps.

Shen had managed to get past the albinos and wasted no time in cutting in on the creepy man.  The man grabbed his shoulder.  "Back off, human," he hissed.  Shen calmly broke his wrist.  "No."  He led January away, only to be hauled back by the dark-haired man and whirled around.  "I don't think you understood me."

Shen's eyes narrowed, then he whirled, throwing the other man into one of the albinos.  "I understood perfectly."  Both of the albinos started for him, then Li was there, _kodachi_ in hand.  "Get going, Kun," he told the hacker.  Shen turned, but the dark-haired one was there.

Shen withdrew a Browning Hi-Power from his jacket and aimed it at him.  "Get the hell out of my way."  The man grinned.  "Try it."  There was a startled shout from Li; Shen turned in time to see the man get thrown aside like a rag doll.

Shit.

Two blurs of black, and Yù-Lién and Yù-Lōng were between him and the albinos.  "Take Jan and go!" Yù-Lōng ordered, drawing a _tai-jian_ as Yù-Lién snapped her lady fans open.

Shen nodded, raising his gun and shooting the dark-haired man three times in the chest, knocking him out of the way.  January screamed, but Shen had her wrist in an unbreakable grip and was already running.  As he exited the building, his cell phone went off.

He holstered the Browning and answered, "Now is really not the time, AK!"  "Shut up and listen, Kahr," his operator snapped.  "That man you shot in public?  He's a program."

"What!?"

"Yes, that does mean he's not dead."

"SHIT!_"_

"Exactly.  And he's on his feet, he's pissed off, and he's coming your way.  Oh, and he's a vampire, too.  You want an exit?"

"Fuck, yes!"  He paused.  "Where can I drop the kid?"  AK thought for a moment.  "Drop her off at the hard-line.  I'll send in Colt and Roland with appropriate weaponry."

"Understood."

"You might want to duck."

Shen, a.k.a. Kahr, didn't pause, just wrapped an arm around January's shoulder and threw them both to the ground as the dark-haired man leapt at them.  He was on his feet in a flash, hauling January upright and running in a different direction.

"Location of the hard-line would help!" Shen/Kahr snapped into his cell phone.

"Go left!"

With helpful instructions from AK, they almost made it.

Almost.  Shen could hear the phone ringing when the vampire blindsided him, tackling him away from the girl.  He promptly kicked the vampire off, using his momentum to flip himself to his feet and blessing AK for all the fighting styles he'd crammed his brain with as well as Colt for kicking his ass so much in training.

He lashed out a round kick at the vampire, who caught it; Kahr barrel-rolled and freed his leg, kicking the program in the face.  "Run!" he shouted to the girl, who hesitated.  The vampire punched him in the gut, sending him into the wall hard enough to dent it.  Kahr fell to his knees, coughing blood, and looked at the girl.  "_Now,_ damn it!"

She fled, and Kahr rose to his feet, preparing for battle.

He got in a few lucky shots, but the young rebel was no match for the incensed vampire.  The fight ended with a badly beaten Kahr lying on the floor, groaning.  The vampire hauled him to his feet by the shoulder of his leather jacket, looking at him with deadly eyes.  "You will pay for your interference."

Kahr opened his mouth to ask "Cash, credit, or check?" but screamed instead as the vampire's fangs sank into his neck.  The pain was incredible, and he could feel himself weakening as the program guzzled his blood.

Another odd feeling kicked in, a feeling he remembered.  As he lost consciousness, he realised that it felt like he was being unplugged again....

~*~

Vlad dropped the body of the young rebel to the ground, wiping his mouth clean of incriminating crimson.  Not a bad taste to his blood, but Vlad much preferred the blood of women.  So much sweeter than that of men.  Unfortunately, the rebel had not lived to remember this lesson, but perhaps his shipmates would learn.

You did not interfere with a vampire's choice of prey.

~*~

"How is he?" AK asked.

"He'll survive," Mauser said, resting a hand on Kahr's hair.  "He somehow downloaded himself into his body when that vampire was drinking from him.  I'd give anything to know how."

"Is he a self-substantiate?" Roland asked.  "No," Colt replied.  "He was unplugged by the _Brahma_."  "Goddamn it," Roland muttered.  "Hey, take a look at this," Tommy, the ship's new medical officer, said, pointing to Kahr's neck.  There was two bruises where the vampire had been feasting, a matched set of slashes.  The crew of the _Mjolner_ exchanged looks.  "Get me Zion," Roland ordered AK.

~*~

_A note about the _Mjolner_ and its crew:_ Mjolner _translates to _Hammer_, which is why it is verbally referred to as the _Hammer.  _The actual name of the ship is the _Mjolner.  _As for the crew, with the possible exceptions of Roland and Maggie, all the crew are named for types of guns – Colt .45, AK-47, and Mauser C96, for example.   The two OCs are no exception and are named for the Kahr PM9093A and the Thompson, also called a Tommy Gun._

_UPDATE: Roland, named for the Roland   , with 'Maggie' a possible reference to a Magnum._

_If you already know this, I apologise for reiterating that.  By the by, does anyone know what language _mjolner_ is in?  I think it's one of the Nordic ones, but I could be wrong._

_Coming next time: Yù-Lién and Yù-Lōng versus the Twins!  Will the Chinese assassins escape, or will they lose miserably to the British assassins?  Will Kahr be all right?  Did Asmodeus ever get out of the Matrix?  Not to mention Fred!_

_Stay tuned!_

_[/ TV ANNOUNCER]_

~*~

**_Megami_****_:_**_ Writer's block is a good excuse.  And I'm not telling, because neither 'Modeus nor the Mero are telling me.  It's very rude of them.  Vampire humour kicks.  ^_^_

**_Bikini:_**Arigatou._  I love complication.  It's so much fun.  And if anyone is confused, let me know, and I'll try to clear things up._

**_To All Archangel Fans:_**_ You are going to love me._


	8. Angel Reborn

**Angel Reborn**

~*~

"... God did not spare angels when they sinned, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment...." – 2 Peter 2:4

~*~

It took Asmodeus a fortnight to recover from being dragged into the Matrix without preparation.  He later claimed it was because of his method of getting out – letting Tiger drain his Matrix body of all the programmed blood within.  It worked out for both parties: Asmodeus' mind escaped the Matrix and Tiger got the best meal he'd had in a long time.

In addition, Asmodeus had gained both knowledge and... insurance.  So, vampires were behind the recent substantiations.  It made sense, and explained the bruises on the necks of LCD and Angélique, the most recent self-substantiate.  He had also learned that someone in Zion was giving the rouge vampires help, but nobody knew who.  The rogues, as shell-changer Red had found, simply referred to their Zionite benefactor as Dragão.

In exchange for his... insurance... Asmodeus had agreed to hunt down this Dragão.  Not that he wouldn't have anyway, several innocent girls had wound up dead or insane because of this joker.  It had been harder to promise himself not to kill Dragão straight off the bat.  No, this one had to be dragged before the Council for more reasons than one.

It was a good thing, Asmodeus reflected, that the Merovingian was looking for replacements for most of his men.  Cain and Abel had already all but quit, leaving ex-Agents Matthias Brown and Tobias Jones as their replacements, and Seth had mentioned a rumour that the Twins were looking into a pair of assassins to replace them... or at least take over their jobs.  It would be difficult to replace the ghost Twins, after all.

Asmodeus got the feeling that the fallen angel and his vampiric partner were also looking for replacements, as were the doubly mysterious Jacob and Esau.  Perhaps having their asses handed to them by Neo had made them decide that they were tired of working for the Frenchman; maybe they'd been bored since the peace began.

As for Red... well, who knew about the once-human?

Asmodeus found himself before the aged Council for the nth  time, explaining first what he was thinking in jumping out of the _Icarus _after Angélique, and also in "boarding" the train after Dana's collapse.  "Can you even swim, Asmodeus?" Councillor Dillard had asked.  After a moment's thought, he replied, "No, Councillor, I cannot."  Councillor Hamann had exchanged a glance with Councillor West, then West had leaned forward and asked, "Then why did you jump out after the girl if you couldn't swim?"

"Forgot I couldn't, sir."

Hamann chuckled at Asmodeus' deadpan tone when he said that, not realising that the Demon of Zion had been serious.  He _had_ forgotten that he couldn't swim.  "Impossibilities and the regularity with which you pull them off aside," Dillard said, slightly exasperated with him, "This still does not explain how you were able to "board" that train to the Matrix, nor does it explain what you were doing in the Merovingian's portion of the machine city."

"I was looking for information," Asmodeus replied, "and the best source for info Matrix-side is the Frenchman."

"And why would a Zion-born like yourself be looking for information on the Matrix?" Hamann asked.  Asmodeus shrugged.  "I had a hunch about the cause of the recent surge in self-substantiations and only the Frenchman or one of his thugs could confirm my theory."

"And was your theory correct, Asmodeus?" another Councillor asked.  "Yes," the man replied, smirking in a self-satisfied way.  "Do you mind sharing this theory with the Council, Asmodeus?"

"Yes, actually, I do," he replied.  Dillard's eyes narrowed.  "That was not a request, Asmodeus."

"With all due respect, Councillor, there is a Zionite involved in this.  Seeing as I now must look for him or her, it would be a bad thing to say why I was looking for them, now wouldn't it?"

"Surely you do not suspect the Council, Demon," West said warningly.  "Of course not," Asmodeus answered innocently, "but it could very well be someone connected to the Council.  Now, if you don't mind, I would like to check on Danaë and make sure that this little adventure didn't have any adverse effects on her or her child."

"Supposing we do mind, Asmodeus?" Hamann mused.  "Tough," the Demon of Zion replied, smirking.

"This is not finished, Asmodeus!" Dillard snapped.  He turned to her.  "With all due respect, Councillor, it is.  If it's any consolation, I rather suspect that this little adventure may very well be my last."

With that ominous phrase, he walked out.  Dillard sat back in her seat and sighed.  "The man is impossible."  Hamann smiled.  "He rather reminds me of Jet.  Jet was much the same, as you may recall."

"The One was not that exasperating," Dillard replied.  "But he looks like him.  Do you think Asmodeus even knows _who_ he is?" Hamann wondered.

"I don't think so," replied another Councillor.  "To my knowledge, nobody's told him, and since he can't jack in, why would he even suspect?"

"The Merovingian may have told him," West pointed out.  

"But how would he _know_?"

"Asmodeus looks exactly like his grandfather, that's how."

"But he acts nothing like Jet!"

Hamann wondered to himself if, perhaps, the fifth One had acted more like Asmodeus before choosing the human race over Zion.  One had to wonder just how alike the two really were.

~*~

Kahr awoke on the _Mjolnir_ with a bitch of a headache.  "Note to self: Never ever piss off a vampire.  Bloody hell..."  "Ah, I see you're up!" came Tommy's too-cheery voice.  Kahr groaned.  "Shut up, Tommy, I'm not in the mood."  Tommy laughed and passed Kahr a jug.  "Have a drink; it'll make you feel better."

Kahr took a long pull, coughed, and had another.  Ah, Dozer's infamous brew.  Tommy laughed and pulled up a chair beside Kahr's table.  "So, apart from being ejected from the Matrix by an angry vampire, how was your evening?"

"Not too bad.  Ran into some old friends, the Sun twins.  They come from the same clan as Ghost and I, but they took the assassination route."

"Oh, the pair those ghost Twins are after?"

Kahr frowned.  "I thought they wanted that white girl, Jan?"  Tommy shook his head.  "Nah, I think the vampire wanted her.  The Twins have been playing with your assassin buddies and some other friends of theirs.  AK and the others are watching.  They say it makes for great entertainment, watching humans giving programs a fair fight."

Kahr sighed.  "Not with those Twins, it isn't fair."

"Well, the Twins don't seem to want to kill your friends, so that's a bonus, right?"

"I suppose... are they still fighting?"

Tommy nodded.  "C'mon, I'll take you down there."

~*~

Two smirked at the exotic Yù-Lién, drawing his razor and preparing for battle.  He remembered the feel of her against his body, recalled her trembling in rage.  This reaction intrigued him; most girls would have been either terrified or aroused – or both, one could never tell with some humans.  She had wounded him as well, which also intrigued him.  The girl herself regarded him with fiery rage in her eyes, in a cat stance with her _shukusen_ open and ready to strike.

One faced off with a dispassionate Yù-Lōng, irritated at his apparent lack of interest in this battle.  He showed more concern over the safety of that Mitchell girl than he did for himself!  One paused as he looked into the human's eyes, reassessing his evaluation.  There was nothing in Yù-Lōng's eyes, not even any hint of an emotionless mask, just a sort of unholy joy as he readied himself to fight.

One was suddenly, uncomfortably reminded of himself and his brother.

That look in Yù-Lōng's eyes vanished as a hand came down on his shoulder and the boy wielding a _kodachi_ stepped up.  "Don't take all the fun for yourself, Dragon," he admonished as the sword came up and crossed with Yù-Lōng's _tai-jian_.  "This is a two-man fight."

Yù-Lōng glared at him.  "Li, help my sister."

"She kind of threatened my manhood when I offered..."

Yù-Lōng rolled his eyes and made room for his... friend.  One smirked, hoping to unnerve the newcomer.  Yù-Lōng mirrored his smirk, and One suddenly felt that with this human, a razor might not cut it.  He was not the type to be phased by little cuts that were more irritance than they were painful.  One devised a plan swiftly and struck hard, ignoring the deep slash he received from Yù-Lōng as he went after the boy Li.

Li went down hard as One lunged at Yù-Lōng with the downed boy's weapon.  The human assassin blocked easily, trying to force the _kodachi_ aside and finding that One's arms did not move unless he chose to move them.  He then tried a different tack, snapping his foot up and into One's elbow, shattering the bone.  One simply phased and healed, bringing a slight frown to Yù-Lōng's face.  He'd forgotten that the phasing technique served as a healing function for the odd twins.

Yù-Lién wasn't doing too well against Two; their speed was equal, but Two could heal when injured and Yù-Lién could not.  He could see that this and the shallow cuts along her arms and face were starting to irritate her.  He loved toying with passionate fighters; it was all too easy.  He sensed someone behind him and phased as a glaive passed through him.

"Wings!" Yù-Lién shouted in irritation.  Two froze, he'd heard that name before... a long time ago... Red had nicknamed his irritating Japanese friend 'Wings'.  This had been during the Fourth Cycle, of course, and 'Wings' had been killed before that Cycle had ended, but Two did not like hearing that name.

He sensed another swoop of the glaive and whirled, catching the staff on his arm and glaring into the face of its owner... and feeling his eyes widen behind his sunglasses.

Archangel.

~*~

_I said you Archangel were going to love me.  For those of you who don't have a damn clue of what it is I'm talking about, please pause in your perusal of this fanfic and go check out _Fourth Cycle: Runaways._  It introduces Archangel as well as some of his crewmates, including Red, whom you met earlier._

~*~

_UPDATE: Roland and Maggie accounted for. 'Maggie' is a nickname for a S&W Model 29 .44 Magnum, while 'Roland' refers to a bullet calibre, the .460 Roland. The bullet fits the character. ^_^  And yup, _mjolnir _is Nordic. Thanks to **Orcus** for pointing out that Mjolnir referenced Thor's hammer. I need to brush up on my Norse mythology; Greek/Roman mythology is my strong point._

_~*~_

**_Dragonet:_**_ Never go on vacation again, then.  Sorry about not replying last chapter; I got your review _just_ as I was updating!  And, wow, I'm making people late for class?  I feel so… heart-warmed, somehow.  You love me, you really love me!  As for Asmodeus, decide what you will.  I love the guy to death, but he's so hard to write!  Note to all of you: Never create a character smarter than you are.  You will regret later._

**_Orcus:_**_ Hey, baby, long time no see!  *hug*  Like I said, I really need to brush up on my Nordic mythology.  (BIG FAT HINT TO MOCKINGBIRD AND ETHAN AND ANY FAN WILLING TO BUY ME PRESENTS!!)  If you know any good websites with Nordic mythology, Babylonian mythology, any sort of mythology barring Greek/Roman, please give me the URL!  I need the research and name ideas!  ^^  Be patient, young grasshoppa, Avvy and Abel shall turn up soon enough, but they're not the stars of this story.  Moody 'Modeus, the Sun twins, and Jan, they're the stars, as well as dear Tiger.  ^_^  I might relent and drop in some Krsna for my rabid fans of the Mad Bomber, but I'm making no promises._


	9. Vampire

**Vampire**

=-=-=

_Nunquam lamiae **morde me** dice._

=-=-=

January couldn't run any more.

She had all but collapsed a good two miles away from where Yù-Lōng's friend Shen had ordered her to run, exhausted and gasping for air, completely unaware of the dark shadow watching her. However, another shadow was looking out for her that night.

As the rogue vampire prepared to strike, a slim hand grasped its shoulder, turning it to face a grinning Tiger. "Mine," he purred. The vampire hissed and struck at him, but he was no longer there; he was behind it, grasping its head and giving it a sharp twist. The sound of snapping bones alerted the small-statured blonde to his presence; she turned in time to see him drop her would-be attacker's paralysed body to the ground.

Tiger watched her brown eyes widen in fear, so he offered her a reassuring smile, taking care not to let his fangs show. "I'm not going to hurt you, little one," he said, the tone and volume of his voice carefully calculated to project friendliness and some concern. "Yù-Lién sent me to make sure you and Shen got out all right."

He was grateful for his Asian shell; it lent credibility to his lie about the female assassin. Seeing her relax, he almost felt bad about the lie. Almost. She was far too trusting; it was too easy to take advantage of her. No wonder Vlad wanted her. "Who are you?" she asked, taking the hand he offered her. "Tiger," he answered, helping her to her feet. At her confused look, he added, "A nickname," and smiled. Amazing, what a mere smile could do to assure this girl He would just have to be cautious not to show her his fangs.

Being the vampire he was, he could not help but notice her neck. Pale and slender, it looked quite attractive to him... and he was hungry... no, not yet. If he was going to claim her, he would certainly not do it Vlad's way. He would win her over slowly, whether or not the two assassins liked it....

Of course, if the Twins had their way, those two would not be a problem. "I'm January Mitchell," the girl introduced herself shyly. Tiger blinked; what sort of parent would name their child _January_? It was worse than naming one's child _April_. "Pleased to meet you, January," he said smoothly, offering her his arm. The girl flushed, and he concealed a smirk. It never failed; act the gentlemen and naïve girls blushed. Causality at its finest.

Hmmm, perhaps he would drink from her tonight. No more than a sip, of course, he had fed well off the human Asmodeus; just a taste, see if she was worth claiming. If he didn't like the taste of her blood, there would be no point in claiming her, even to annoy Vlad.

She slid her arm through his, and Tiger grinned; all together too easy. "I'll walk you home," he offered. "You live in the dorms, yes?" She nodded, and he began to walk with her, wondering what it was about this girl that intrigued him so. It could have been her looks, she had a sort of girl-next-door air about her... but it was more than likely her naïveté, her innocence. The college was looming just ahead; he made his decision swiftly. He paused, removing his sunglasses and turning to look at the girl. "Tiger?" she asked, looking up at him. "What is it?" She was lost the moment their eyes met, caught in the vampire's thrall.

"Shh," he whispered, reaching forward to stroke her face as her eyes became glassy. "This won't hurt... I promise." Her compliance assured, he leaned forward and sank his fangs into her neck.

=-=-=

Wings glared at the albino who had caught his glaive for an instant before sweeping the bottom of the weapon down and around to try and trip him up. That didn't work either; the older man simply smirked before his body changed, becoming greenish, transparent, and, Wings quickly found out, insubstantial. The Japanese adolescent nearly overbalanced and hit the floor, but he recovered in time to receive a deep slash from his opponent's straight razor.

He winced, but slashed back at the ghost, who phased again, still smirking – until Yù-Lién cut him deeply from shoulder to hip across his back as he solidified. He growled and whirled, backhanding her sharply across the face with enough force to knock her to the ground. She scissored her legs through his, but he had already phased; Wings watched with wide eyes as the deep wound on his back healed, his trench coat patching itself together. And the weird thing was, this somehow seemed familiar to him. The albino's phasing ability had startled Wings, but surprisingly hadn't surprised him. It was almost as if he'd been expecting that in the back of his mind.

And he didn't like this. Almost-memories that weren't his? This only served to add on to his notion that something was wrong with the world. Of course, those twin things only screamed _that_ out in big blinking bold letters.

_Aa, __kusot__!_ he thought, leaping back from the albino's swing at his chest. He wasn't fast enough, the razor cut him deeply again across the chest. Yù-Lién was back on her feet, _shukusen_ snapped open and slashing at him again. Snarling in anger, the one twin whirled so that Wings and Yù-Lién were on either side of him, then took a step forward before swinging his arms out and around to slam into their stomachs, knocking the pair of them onto the ground. Yù-Lién was fast enough to get out of the way, but Wings was not; the twin had him by the shoulder, hauling him off the ground, pressing a razor to his throat.

"Desist, or your friend dies."

Wings rolled his eyes, did this albino actually think that he, a bodyguard-in-training, was friends with a pair of assassins? The club was simply a place where they could drop all professional rivalry and have a good time. He knew it, Yù-Lién knew it, they all knew it. Yù-Lién smirked. "He understands, don't you, Mr Tenou?"

Wings blinked, she knew his name? The twin hesitated for a moment, confused, but it was already too late. Li was back on his feet and had a gun in his hand, firing three shots at the albino's head, triggering the phase. Wings leapt away, feeling blood trickling down his neck; Li had timed that real close. Almost too close. "Thanks, man," he said to the shorter Korean. "Had to help out a brother guard, right? No 'Sassin would."

"I owe you one."

"Damn straight you do," which was probably the real reason Li had helped him. Ah, well. He was still alive, that was what mattered. "Yeah, whatever." The boys stood back from the double battle, watching Yù-Lōng strike at the other albino. "They won't win," Li commented. "I know," Wings replied.

"Should we help the 'Sassins?"

"Hmm… I dunno…"

"She did abandon you to die."

"Any of us would have."

"I wouldn't."

"You're the strange one."

"True enough."

"These others, however… they broke the Rule."

"That's true, they did."

"Shall we?"

"We shall."

Li raised his slender pistol as Wings drew his own handgun, each drawing a bead on a different twin and opening fire. "Move it, Dragon!" Li yelled when the assassin turned to glare at him. "Use the opening while you still have it!"

"Go!" Yù-Lién yelled, snapping her fans shut and slipping them… wherever it was she kept them before grabbing her brother's arm and dragging him after her. The four Asians fled from the strange albinos. Before they parted ways, Yù-Lōng grabbed Li by the throat and dragged him close so Yù-Lién couldn't hear. "Never interfere in my fights again," he snarled. "I'll kill you next time." He pushed the Korean away and followed his twin. "Get in shotgun!" he yelled at her. Yù-Lién didn't argue with him for once; strapping in as he slid into the driver's side.

Yù-Lōng wasted no time in getting them the hell out of there.

=-=-=

Tiger gently stroked the girl's neck as he carried her limp body inside. Finding the suite of rooms belonging to the human assassins, he broke in and gently laid the girl on the couch, brushing a strand of her dirty blonde hair from her face. He smiled and murmured, "The sweetest fruit is often the most plain…," fingering the marks he'd left on her neck. Deftly, he smoothed some more of her hair over the double slashes, hiding the evidence of his little taste-test. Vlad definitely would not be claiming this one.

"Sleep well, little January," he whispered before exiting the Sun twins' rooms via the Industrial Hallway. Minutes later, Yù-Lōng's Maserati pulled into the parking lot. "Fucking albinos," he muttered as he stepped out of the car. Yù-Lién exited and started running towards January's dorm room. "I want to make sure Jan's okay!" she yelled as she ran. Yù-Lōng shrugged as he sauntered towards their room. It was all the same to him.

Yù-Lién was frightened for her new friend. Shen was responsible enough to let her know if he had gotten Jan home safely, and she'd not heard from him. She didn't bother with the elevator, instead running at top speed up three flights of stairs to Jan's fourth-story dorm room. "Jan! Are you there!?" she yelled, banging on the door. When there was no answer, she swore and contacted her brother via their personal comm frequency. Before she could speak, Yù-Lōng's voice said calmly, "Relax, Lotus, she's on our couch, asleep – or at least unconscious. Come home, I don't want you on your own until I'm sure those damn albinos didn't follow us."

"On my way," she replied, unaware that Yù-Lōng had discovered the slashes on January's neck and neglected to mention them. This did not, however, stop him from musing about them. Had the thing that had given January those marks gotten Kun Shen as well?

No, he decided, the hacker had received the same early training as himself and Yù-Lién. Kun was more than capable of handling himself. This did not keep the assassin from wondering, in the most private recesses of his mind, what he had gotten himself and Yù-Lién into.

=-=-=

"Asmodeus!" cried LCD, running towards the older man. "Are you all right?" The man grinned at him, reaching up to ruffle his hair. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired, is all. Damn vampire. What do you want, kid?"

"Word just came in from the _Hammer_. Their new guy, Kahr, was just ejected from the Matrix by a pissed-off Exile."

Asmodeus arched an eyebrow. "What'd he do, insult its programmer?" LCD shook his head. "No, he got between a vampire and its prey. The vampire drained him completely and somehow ejected him from the Matrix." The Demon of Zion frowned. "Further evidence towards my theory. It would seem that the vampires have picked up a new ability from somewhere… but where…?"

Asmodeus tried very hard to ignore the adoring look on LCD's face. He was going to have to talk to him about this… crush thing eventually, but now was not a good time. "Hey, kid, I need you to go talk to the doctors for me. Tell 'em there's a chance Danaë is spawning." At the kid's blank look, he sighed and translated, "She might be pregnant." LCD's eyes widened and he ran off immediately. Asmodeus smiled and looked towards the cavern's ceiling, high overhead. "Your move," he said softly.

=-=-=

Never say **bite me** to a vampire.

=-=-=

_Oh, my God, it's an actual_ update_! Go me!_

_Yeah, sorry about the hiatus, y'all – I've had some major Issues with writer's block, and my internet connection has been spazzing worse than dial-up AOHell. Anyone know where I can get a cable modem cheap? Preferably one that ISN'T Motorola? It's kinda hard to update when one's internet isn't working, yes?_

_Thank God for AOL free trials. I hate becoming an AOL whore, but damn it, I owe you guys updates! So, I'm going to be an AOHell bitch for the next few months. Shoot me now._

=-=-=

**_Dragonet:_**_ Stop being late for homeroom. And I had to do something for poor Archangel; I mistreated him in_ Program_._

**_Heavens to bikini kill:_**_ Glomp away, I don't mind. And no, not exactly Archangel…_

**_Quietly Making Noise:_**_ Like I just said, he isn't exactly back… more on that later. And no worshipping allowed, I am but a vessel._


End file.
